2001: A Space Odyssey

January 20, 2010

Wikipedia | 2001: A Space Odyssey (often referred to as 2001) is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke.

The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous and often surreal imagery, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

The film has a memorable soundtrack — the result of the association which Kubrick made between the rotary motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes which led him to use the The Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II, and the famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss, to portray the philosophical evolution of Man theorized in Nietzsche’s homonymous work.

Despite receiving mixed reviews upon release, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today recognized by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films ever made; the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time.

It was nominated for four Academy Awards and received one for visual effects. In 1991, it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in The National Film Registry.

Comments (2)

My most favorite film – and even more so now that I’ve discovered these possibilities of a Singulatarian future. But that’s relative to the importance and significance of the ideas in the film: evolution, AI, and of course, some human mistrust which I’m afraid we’ll have to put up with a little bit longer.

This is one of my favorite films.
I love seeing the primates picking up a bone and discovering what can be accomplished with a tool. Manipulation of the environment would of course inevitably lead to technology and to the world envisaged in 2001. While the movie isn’t entirely accurate it is still a great look at humanity and the inevitability for intelligence to manifest itself.
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And the Monolith. That just makes it more interesting.
seeding intelligence?